The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-11-02
A CHECKERED CAREER
The Secret Of Grant, the Biglmist, VINO Died
lns Massachusetts, Jail.
The Natural Son of Victor EmaEuel Has au
adventurous Career-A Fenian, Biga-
mist, swindler and seOuudreI.

Boston, October 27.-The mystery of a
/ strange life has been solved and a wonder
| fully romantic story of criminal adventure
| has been brought out by the Identification
| of the late DR.. Andrew Jackson Grant,
bieamist and confidence man, as the fam
| Gus Fenian leader, DIR. Louis Contri, who
/ was an illegiumate son of Victor Emanuel,
| King of Italy. The last words OF this re-
markable man, as he lay dying in Cam
| bridge Jail last April, were: The world
shall never know me as l was" Neverthe-
less, his secret has been probed, and the
career which is exposed, will find none to
match it. The doctors disguise was
| pierced several weeks before his death by
/ one or two persons who knew him years
| ago as DR.. ContIi, but they did not expose
him. He was then awaiting trial for
bigamy, and swindling Miss Lucy Torrey,
| of Cambridge, out of so, 900 and if he had
] lived to go into court, the whole story
would probably have come out, for many
| persons hereabouts knew the Fenian
leader intimately, previous to 1872. These
! persons have fully identified DR.. Grants
photograph since his death as that of DR..
| Contri.
According to his story, he was born in
! Austria, but was the son OF Victor Eman-
| uel and Archduchess Adelhird, of Austria.
| BE was born in 1872, two months before
Victor Emanuel and the Archduchess we're
| united in marriage. Victor Emanuel was
| at that time King of Sardinia, and did not
succeed to the throne of Italy until 1861.
| When but a mere child he was transferred
/ to the custody of an old abbott in SwitZer-
land, by whom he was carefully schooled
/ in the sciences. Among other things he
made speciality of languages, and 60 pro-
fcient bad he become that he could speak
/ at least five with fluency. The old abbot
became, as it were parent to him, and
finally the young mans desires to know
something of his parentage became so
strong that the good old priest told him
all, even to the stain upon his birth.
When the young man grew up he went
to Sardinia and openly conspired against
the E ling and t. Tas ,I fOrasd to
with money. He came to America with
! DR.. McSheehy, and when the war broke
| out he enlisted in a New York regiment.
| His connection with the Fenian raid on
| Canada is well known.
1t was his ventures in the marriage line
that gave him his widest reputation.
| When he came to this country, be eft
wife in Germany, but soon after landing
here be took another.
Little is known of his army life except
the fact that he was taken prisoner and
sent to Richmond some months before the
fall of the Southern capital. He there
made the acquaintance of Miss Virginia
| ul6Cc Vi J6ueIsOu OhVlS. lie
was an Aaron Burr among women, and he
easily won the heart of Miss Saunders.
| Hardly had peace been declared before
| Contri married her and flew with her to
Canada. They had lived in Montreal a
few months only when his young bride
| died, leaving him once more free man,
for his little German wife had obtained a
divorce on account Of his desertion. He
! returned at once to the States, and arrived
| in Boston the spring of 1866
when Fenianism was at its height.
He went into the struggle
| body and soul, and was among the
first to enroll himself in the rank and file
then preparing for raid on Canada. So
| energetic was he that when the Fenians
lett Boston, he was colonel. In 1869, he
married Mrs. Jane DelaDy, OF Boston, who
had $4,000 in bank. When that was gone
he deserted her. He next married Miss
Mary Dittson, of a Hudson river town. For
this he was sentenced to Sing Sing for two
| years, but secured his release after three
months. He then dropped the name of
! Contri.
In 1880, he appeared in London under
| the name of DR.. Grant, and advertised as
a specialist, and lectured extensively on
miDd-curing Being again involved in
scandal, he secretly lett London and re-
turned to the United States. He learned
that his first wife had procured a divorce
from him and had gone to live in Chicago.
He went there, and it is believed that
while in that city, he obtained medical
degrees from local dispensary under the
name of A. ]. Perry, by which name he
be came widely known. He figured con-
spicuously in the lecture rooms of the
West and South as man OF learning
and uncommon eloQuence. Newspaper
notices of his lectures were found in
scrap book in his trunk, after his
I - = l.. -
was while out npon lecture tour that he
first met and married the woman who is
gnown as Kate Ray, his sister. Together
they conspired to do up the large water
ing places of the country. In the summer
of 1884 be and bis sister were at Old
Orchard Beach, under the name of DIR.
Perry. He claimed to be an extremely rich
Englishman with untold possessions in
Australia. The woman he passed of as
his sister, be said also possessed great
wealth. Among the visitors to the beach
was Miss Emma kanes, OF st. Thomas,
Canada. whom be married in SHORT order.
He secured nearly $4,000 from her and
then left her. he proposed to a number of
other women and became engaged to q
Mrs. Williams, rich widow of KenDe-
bunk, Maine. The timely interference OF
friends saved her. At Revere Beach he
laid siege to the heart of Miss Riddle, of
Manchester, N. H., proposed and was re-
| lected. He visited with his alleged sister
Newport, Nantucket Long Branch, Bar
Barbor, Saratoga, Lake Winnipiseo gee and
resorts in the White mountains.
In 1885, he opened a doctors office in
Boston. He was soon engaged to marry
three ladies, and after robbing them Of all
they had, he decamped. In March, 1885,
he paid court to Mrs. Annie Bulger, dres-
maker of Brooklyn, and finally promised
to marry her. At the same time he was
carrying on similar Arrangement with
Mary Siurgis, of New York. He fed on the
plight he agreed to marry both,t taxing all
they possessed, even their clothes. He next
turned up at Littleton n. r., where he
married Miss Lucy Torrey, of Cambridge.
This netted him $4,000.
After that affair, DR.. Grant went into
hiding in Clayton, N. j., where some time
previously he had purchased.a comfortable
little farm. After he had robbed the Cam
bridge lady, DR.. Grant as his so-called sis
ter quarreled over the spoile, The doctor
went to his home and Kate went West
Detective Ducey, of Cambridge got or. his
track, and after some skillful work, arrest
ed him at Clay ton, n. j., early in March
He was taken back to Cambridge aud com
mitted TO the house of correction to await
his trial. On the 20 of April he died.
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